Mumbai Mirror begins day one with two-lakh circulation

The first of the new English newspapers expected in
Mumbai, ‘Mumbai Mirror’ was launched this morning
marking the beginning of the print war in the city.
Divulging that the compact has begun with a
circulation of 2 lakh, accompanied by the launch
campaign today, Vineet Jain, Managing Director,
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., said that The Times of
India is prepared for the threat that Mumbai Mirror
can pose to it. “It is growth for the group first.
This will lead to the overall expansion of the print
market and in the process, if there is
cannibalisation, it is all right. Internal
cannibalisation is healthy,” he remarked.

Mumbai
Mirror inaugural issue

With a broadsheet in the picture and several
magazines, one would think that going for a compact was an obvious choice. Jain
elaborated, “Compact is a tried and tested format internationally. Respected
papers like The Independent and now Wall Street Journal have adopted it. In
an age when everything is going for a concise size – ranging from laptops
to iPods -- the same makes sense for today’s newspapers too. You never
know, in a matter of time, we might turn the TOI to a compact as well.”

According to Jain, the challenge for the newcomer will
be to take on the Times itself but the beginning has
happened at the No. 2 spot. “The objective is a
difficult one, to have a higher circulation than TOI,
but we have started on a healthy note. In regard to
circulation, we are already the No. 2 player beginning
with a circulation figure of two lakh on day one,” he
said.

Mumbai Mirror’s Brand Director, Bhaskar Das, who is
also Executive President, Response, is clear about the
paper’s way forward. He observed, “Mumbai Mirror is a
paper that reflects the Mumbai spirit and addresses
the youth. The paper will be a crisp presentation of
everything that is of importance to the Mumbai
reader.”

This point was further accentuated with Mumbai Mirror
being launched by actor Abhishek Bachchan and Chief
Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh explaining to the
gathering why the paper would be an asset to the
people in Mumbai. He said, “I thank the Times for
bringing a paper which identifies the growing needs of
the Mumbai youth ‘sspirit. I hope the paper finds its
right place in the Mumbai market.”

Bachchan was more to the point when he said, “All you
people out there, please go buy the paper!”

The Times Group had gone all out to mark the beginning
of its newborn – the launch event took place at the
Gateway of India, amidst fireworks, laser shows, para
gliders marking the sky with the red and black Mumbai
Mirror logo and, courtesy some clever lighting, the
brand name was over the Gateway of India itself.

Mumbai Mirror – A close look at the inaugural issue

As promised, the inaugural issue is a 48-page
morninger, and carries an ‘Invitation Price Rs 2’
pointer.

The compact presently has three content pages in
colour – cover page, one world page and one
entertainment page.

In context to advertising, the compact has an
eight-page classified special called ‘Your Connect’.
Of the balance 40 pages, there are nine full-page ads
including a centrespread with advertisers like
Provogue, Videocon, Suzlon and Sahara One. The paper
has a good quotient of local advertisers like Vijay
Sales, Raunak Group, Gracious Communication, etc.

Other local advertisers like Book Zone and Ice tea
have promotional offers for Mumbai Mirror readers in
the inaugural issue. The fact that the compact will be
heavy on that factor is evident from the cover page
itself, which has the line ‘This paper is your free
movie ticket’ written on top of the masthead. It has a
tie-up with Fame Adlabs for this.

One cannot miss the advantage that the compact size
has for a few advertisers in terms of the size of the
ad in proportion to the size of the page.

In terms of content, the paper has tried to cover
national and international news. Other areas that see
prominence are city news sports and entertainment
news.

The back of the book component ‘Chai Time’ is decent
with two pages of crosswords, number games, comic
strips and Sunita Menon competing with Marjorie Orr
for ‘Astrology’. Just as Mid Day has a ‘Are you in the
pic’, so does Mumbai Mirror and gift here is a Rs 1000
voucher from Provogue.TV and theatre listings are available as well. This is the inaugural issue in totality.

The war has indeed begun with this inaugural issue and
Jain is positive, “The forthcoming papers are very
good for the overall print scene – they will drive the
market’s growth further. We are very excited with the
Times ahead.”

Das added, “In the present state of affairs, ToI is
the number one paper, followed by Economic Times and
Maharashtra Times and now Mumbai Mirror is also in the
picture – whoever comes now will have to begin at the
fourth position – in all, it is going to be fun.”

Fun is definitely the keyword for the readers and the
advertisers with Mumbai Mirror beginning with
invitational schemes for both.